2015

Ken Sullivan

Ken Sullivan thought he would be a history professor. That is in fact how he began his professional career. Life had other plans for this son of the Appalachian coalfields. After only two years in academia, Ken became editor of GOLDENSEAL magazine—a position he held for 18 years—then executive director of the West Virginia Humanities Council for the last 18 years. An astute scholar of regional studies and mountain literature, Ken has contributed much to the appreciation and documentation of West Virginia’s folk culture. He deservedly received the 2015 Vandalia Award, West Virginia’s highest folklife honor.